The present invention relates generally to retention means for securing wheel trim to vehicle wheels and more particularly to such retention means which include cooperating elements on both the trim member and vehicle wheel.
Wheel trim in various forms have long been provided on vehicles serving to decorate the vehicle wheel. One of the major problems associated with such wheel trim is to provide reliable and inexpensive retention means for removably securing the trim to the wheel. Compounding this problem is the necessity for allowing the wheel trim to be easily removed and reinstalled, prevention of annoying rattle or relative rotation of the trim and wheel and the desire to allow maximum flexibility for designs which provide a pleasing decorative appearance when installed on the vehicle.
Numerous retention arrangements have been derived over the years ranging from the use of variously shaped clips riveted to the vehicle wheel to use of biting clip members secured to the trim member. While each of these arrangements provide varying degrees of effectiveness in retaining wheel trims, they commonly employed clips engaging each of the members which are generally fabricated from a steel material. Recently, in order to improve ride performance of vehicles as well as to reduce overall weight of the vehicle, alloy wheels have been developed to replace the present steel wheels. Wheel trim securing clips of steel are not suitable for use with such alloy wheels due primarily to the presence of galvanic corrosion due to the dissimilar metals. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop alternate retention means for these wheels.
Also, the desirability of using plastic materials for fabricating wheel trim presents a retention problem not easily overcome by presently available retention systems as plastic materials are not well suited for use under conditions in which stress is exerted thereon, particularly under the extreme temperature and vibration conditions encountered by wheel trim. Thus, as most presently available retention means depend on the creation of a spring pressure between the wheel and trim, it is difficult to design durable wheel trim from plastic materials which will perform satisfactorily over an extended period of time.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a unique wheel trim retention means which overcomes these above mentioned disadvantages by providing a retention system comprising cooperating hook and loop fastener members secured to corresponding radially extending axially aligned oppositely facing surfaces of the wheel trim and vehicle wheel which provide an extremely strong, durable, resilient connection between the vehicle wheel and wheel trim. As these hook and loop fastener members are typically fabricated from synthetic fiber materials, they are not subject to corrosion such as from road salt. Further, as they are not electrically conductive, they are well suited for use with the newly developed alloy wheels as they not only eliminate the galvanic corrosion which may result with the use of presently available metal retention means but further may be positioned so as to maintain an insulating spacing between the trim member and vehicle wheel thus allowing continued use of such metal materials as stainless steel for fabrication of wheel trim without concern over galvanic corrosion problems. Also, as the retention forces generated by these hook and loop fasteners are of a statically unstressed non-rigid nature, these fasteners are ideally suited for use with wheel trim fabricated from plastic compositions. Another important phenomena displayed by these hook and loop fasteners is that when subjected to vibrations, the mutual engagement thereof tends to become stronger. Further, in that these hook and loop fasteners require only that relatively small generally axially facing opposed and alignable surfaces be provided on the wheel and wheel trim, substantially infinite freedom is affordable for design of aesthetically pleasing distinctive wheel trim. Also, these hook and loop fasteners are readily applied to both wheel trim and wheels without the need for any special tools, are not subject to breakage, extremely resistant to deterioration, do not become work hardened with repeated removal and replacement of the wheel trim and provide a resilient strong shock absorbing retention system, and are highly resistant to breaking or other degradation with use as well as being easily replaceable should a failure be encountered. Hook and loop fasteners for use in accordance with the present invention are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,717,437; 3,009,235; 3,076,244; 3,130,111; 3,147,528; 3,154,837; 3,192,589; and 3,387,345.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings and claims appended hereto.